Cadorath Group and Meridian Aviation Consulting LLC have joined forces to establish Meridian Helicopters LLC. The new venture will focus on providing reworked parts distribution support as well as consulting, brokering and technical support for the global Bell Helicopter network.

“Our goal is to be the most trusted and valued parts supply chain partner in the Bell Helicopter network,” said Gerry Cadorath, president of the Cadorath Group. “This strategic venture will grow the supply of reworked parts, provide unparalleled support and generate new business opportunities for the broader Bell Helicopter service community.”

Meridian recently purchased five Bell L3 helicopters. Two L3s will be rebuilt and sold to Cadorath’s lease fleet; the other three will be broken down into parts and components to be reworked, overhauled and distributed by Cadorath and its Bell network partners. Meridian will continue to source and provide component parts for Cadorath Aerospace and the growing demands of the Bell Helicopter network on an ongoing basis while continuing to provide the range of services of Meridian’s predecessor.

Michael Bashlor, founder and president of Meridian Aviation Consulting and managing partner of the new venture, said, “In addition to the ongoing acquisition of parts for our customer network, we will continue much of the work Meridian Aviation did by offering brokerage, consulting and technical services to the aviation industry. We believe this combination of knowledge, skills and services positions us as a comprehensive solution provider for our Bell Helicopter customers worldwide.”

“This investment is the latest in a number of definitive moves we’re making in our plan to strengthen, innovate and increase the level of interactivity within the Bell service and repair community,” said Gerry Cadorath. “Central to this objective is our recent launch of the hugely popular Cadorath AeroParts website. Our vision of a central hub for Bell operators to seek out repairs, exchanges and parts for sale didn’t exist, so we built it ourselves. And we didn’t stop there; we also created AeroPartners to provide the network members the exclusive opportunity to sell their own parts within the same dedicated community.”